In a number of industries, sheet products are provided in large heavy and bulky rolls. Often in the paper printing industry, rolls of paper are not provided at a specific length for the desired printing operation. For example, printing products, such as newspapers, may have a desired width of 32 inches or 44 inches and the only paper roll that is available is a large roll measuring 120 inches wide. Therefore, an effective way of cutting the large roll of paper to the desired width is needed.
In addition, sometimes during the handling and storage of the large rolls, the ends of the rolls become damaged, deformed, or otherwise uneven making the roll unusable unless the damaged area is removed and refinished. More severe instances of paper damage can be caused by liquids leaking or spilling into the storage container area housing the roll of paper. For example, water can appear in the storage area from roof leaks or sprinkler discharges. The liquid absorbs into the paper causing the paper to soften, deform and bulge. In some instance, one or both ends of the paper as well as the circumferential sides of the roll of paper might be damaged due to the liquid. This type of damage requires the converting of a relatively large amount of material from each end of the roll in order to salvage the undamaged area of the roll. In some instances, the removal operation of must be performed in buildings having limited overhead clearances.
Presently, several known devices and methods are used in the industry to cut large rolls of material. However, most of these known methods and devices have numerous drawbacks and are limited in scope. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,719 entitled “Roll Trimming Machine” issued to Easton uses a cutting blade to grind off the end of the roll that is to be removed. This prior art device renders the section of the roll that is severed from the main part of the roll of material useless. This type of device limits the effectiveness and usefulness because they are incapable of removing large sections of the roll of material without damage to the material removed.
Most of the prior art devices also lack the capability of interchanging cutting elements to facilitate different types of cuts made on the rolls of material being cut. The ability to change the cutting apparatuses allow a varying degree of finishes to be applied to the ends of the rolled material as required by the particular needs of a application in which the rolls of materials will be used.
Prior art devices that use an elongated blade, or chainsaw, to cut a roll of material use the elongated side of the blade to cut the roll of material. For example, the L-M Equipment Co. Ltd. Model PS 150-7-404 HC “Paper Cut Off Saw” cuts with the portion of the chain that is along the longest axis on the elongated blade. This device uses the side of the chain saw that is parallel to the longest axis of the chain saw to make the initial incision into the rolled material. This device also uses this same area to continue the cut through the roll of material. None of the chain saw type prior art devices use the distal end, or the portion of the chain saw that is parallel to the shortest axis of the chain saw to make the cut into the roll of material. In fact, the L-M Equipment Co. device covers the distal end of the chain saw and effectively eliminates this portion of the chain saw as a cutting edge.
What is need, then, is an apparatus and method for cutting large rolls of material, such as rolls of paper, into a multiplicity of smaller sized rolls at one location. The apparatus should be capable of handling a various size rolls as well as aligning the roll of material if damaged to the roll necessitates such realignment. This device should be capable of removing damaged portions of the rolls without damaging the remainder of the roll. This device should be able to finish and sand the edge of a roll and be able to support the roll in various positions.